


Dream Journal

by theguineapig3



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Son Relationship, men can be moms too, shared abandonment issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24501100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theguineapig3/pseuds/theguineapig3
Summary: Ever since his brief stint with a psychology guild, Karol kept a detailed journal of his dreams. It wasn’t a serious scientific endeavor, just a fun pastime. He never expected his dreams to reveal anything significant about his subconscious… until they did. A story about Yuri and Karol.
Relationships: Karol Capel & Yuri Lowell
Comments: 12
Kudos: 31





	Dream Journal

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super grateful to my friend VigilantGay for letting me use his prompt about Mom Yuri comforting Karol! This was such a sweet premise to tackle, I really enjoyed it. As a lesbian who wants to be a "dad," I know firsthand that Mom and Dad are identities that transcend the concept of gender. Anyone can be a mom, and Yuri would be the BEST mom. I hope you guys enjoy Mom Yuri too.

Yuri seldom woke in the middle of the night unless something was wrong.

Life in the Lower Quarter had turned him into a deep sleeper, able to filter out the noise of the city so that he could get a decent night’s rest. But after spending months on the road, his survival instincts had kicked in, and he had a heightened awareness of danger, even while asleep. However, he wasn’t the first to react- usually whatever woke Yuri had woken Repede long before. It was strange, then, for him to wake up and see Repede still snoozing peacefully at the foot of the bed. 

The inn room was dark, with only a sliver of moonlight filtering in from a crack between the curtains, and Yuri sat up to examine his surroundings. Repede perked up, but didn’t seem to sense any danger and lowered his head back down again. Raven, meanwhile, was splayed out on the bed in the corner, a few muffled snores from his direction suggesting he had no idea what was going on. But on the other side of the room, another muffled sound caught Yuri’s attention. This one was more of a whimper… almost a sob.

“Karol?”

Yuri called the boy’s name quietly, but received no response. He called again, this time a little louder, but again, Karol didn’t react. Whatever was frightening him, it was happening in his sleep. A bad dream, perhaps? It wouldn’t be the first time Karol had nightmares, but usually he woke up the whole room with frightened yells. Yuri had never heard him  _ cry  _ like this.

Carefully- and with a wave for Repede to stay put- Yuri slid out of bed and approached Karol. His intention was to wake the boy, to put a quick end to whatever was scaring him. But as he reached Karol’s side, he heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks.

“...M… Mom…” It was low, almost a whisper and poorly articulated, but the word Karol had sobbed was still recognizable. “...Mom…” he repeated, and Yuri’s heart sank at the desperation in his voice. For all the battles they’d fought together, he’d  _ never _ heard that tone in Karol’s voice.

As far as Yuri knew, Karol had no idea who his parents were. He was a doorstep baby, he’d said, and the orphanage never managed to locate the parents who’d dropped him off. It had only been a couple years before the war, and tensions were running high between the Empire and guilds at the time. It was possible Karol’s parents had been wrapped up in something they shouldn’t have, and made the decision to leave their child somewhere safe rather than put his life in danger. At least, that was the story Karol told, and up until now, Yuri assumed he genuinely believed it.

But that tone of desperation… Yuri knew it all too well from the lonely childhood nights that he’d buried deep in the back of his memory. It was the voice of a child who’d been abandoned, who felt unwanted, unloved,  _ unlovable _ . And hearing it from Karol hurt Yuri more than he could express. What had he wanted more than anything on those sleepless nights long ago? What could he do for Karol now to spare him that pain? As Karol cried out once again for his mother, Yuri found himself climbing into the bed next to him without thinking. He sat up against the headboard, pulling Karol close enough to wrap his arms around the boy’s shoulders and rest his head against his chest. He was still tense, so Yuri began running his fingers through Karol’s hair in an attempt to calm him. 

“Don’t worry, I’m here. It’s okay. Mom’s here. Mom loves you.”

Yuri’s soft words must have gotten through the haze of sleep, because Karol almost immediately relaxed. His breathing slowed again, and he mumbled a string of words that were barely comprehensible. The last three, however, Yuri understood loud and clear.

“...love you, Mom…”

A rush of emotion that Yuri could only assume was maternal affection filled his chest. He’d been called “mom” before, but it had been said jokingly by kids in the Lower Quarter that he’d scolded for playing on the roof, or by the knights who’d watched him fawn over Repede during his puppy days. This wasn’t a joke. This was real. Maybe it was clouded by the imaginings of Karol’s subconscious- there was no telling who he saw in his dream, after all- but it was real to Yuri. He stayed like that long after Karol returned to a silent, peaceful sleep, able to pretend as long as he did so that Karol was talking to him, that he really  _ was _ Karol’s mother.

After all they’d been through together, who’s to say he wasn’t?

Eventually, however, Yuri could feel himself nodding off. He knew that, if he allowed himself to fall asleep like this, there would be a lot of questions for him come morning. Karol’s questions he could handle, but Raven’s he could  _ not _ . So he gently set Karol back in bed, tucking the blankets back around him and leaning over to kiss the boy’s forehead before returning to his own bed. Karol might not remember anything the next morning, but that was okay. 

His mom would always be there for him.

* * *

_ Karol Capel _

_~~Pythia Society~~ ~~Bookends~~ ~~World’s Cellar~~ ~~Canvas~~ ~~Lock and Key~~ ~~Hunting Blades~~ Brave Vesperia  _

_ Dream Journal Entry #73 _

_ Last night I had that dream about my mom again. Except it was different this time. I mean, it didn’t start out different, but it ended different. Like before, I remember my mom leaving me on the orphanage doorstep. I ran after her, but I still couldn’t catch up. I was yelling for her, but I couldn’t get any sound out.  _

_ That’s usually the part where it ends and I wake up, but this time, she actually came back. Or, my mom came back, but it wasn’t my mom. It was Yuri. For some reason, HE was my mom. Like, it was definitely Yuri, but I was totally convinced he was my mom. Is that weird? It made sense in the dream.  _

_ Anyway, then Yuri- as my mom- hugged me and petted my hair and told me everything was going to be alright. He said he was there for me and that he loved me- that ‘Mom’ loved me, but he was definitely talking about himself- and then he tucked me into bed and kissed my forehead. Writing it now, it seems like it’d be weird, but it wasn’t weird at all. Actually, it was really nice. It made me really happy. I’ve never been happy like that in a dream before. I want to be that happy in real life someday. _

_ I’m confused, though. Does this mean I think of Yuri as my mom? Does this mean Yuri IS my mom? I wish I hadn’t quit Pythia Society after only two lessons about dreams. Maybe I’d be able to figure this out. In the meantime, I’m gonna try really hard not to call Yuri “Mom.”  _

_ I want to, though. _

_ P.S. Estelle, I know you read my dream journal. Please don’t tell Yuri about this. I don’t want to make things weird. _

_ P.P.S. RITA, I KNOW YOU READ MY DREAM JOURNAL. DON’T YOU DARE TELL YURI ABOUT THIS OR ELSE!!!!! _

_ P.P.P.S. Raven, do whatever you want. _


End file.
